openDemocracy members are having a lively and interesting conversation on the forums, trying to imagine a world without the West.
Will there be a convergence to the stereotypical American way of life running in parallel with the economic empowerment of countries like India, China and India, or will we find ourselves starring at a profound cultural and religious gap separating our two (or three or four...) different worlds? Some excerpts: (more...)
Ron237 says:
A world of broad based prosperity is realized, a world that prospers by the kind of work you can no longer stand over people with a whip and get. Instead you have to cut a good deal, which is to say populations secure in self-governance, rich in opportunity for innovation and its implementation, and able to project a satisfactory life for all. Societies creating that ‘good deal’ will prosper, those failing will be eclipsed. And the average man and woman get to look forward to a life in which they can earn enough to marry, raise a family, educate their children, and retire with a measure of comfort and security.
Englishman replies:
It is really not very likely that the best or only methods of improving people's lots is necessarily that which is employed in the USA. The USA system is also unlikely to be the only way that a socio-economic system can evolve, despite the retro-fitted ideas of some economists. There is no doubt influence and pressure from the pre-existence of a "successful" state, but there is also many forces against such a system being followed. And how "success" today may be adjudged to be a model for the future is highly debatable.
